Women's Water Polo Takes Three of Four at Princeton Invite

Shown here in earlier action, sophomore attacker Shayna Price, a Crimson sports comper, scored five goals in four games at this weekend’s Princeton Invitational. Shayna’s sister, junior attacker Aisha Price, led the Crimson attack at the tournament, tallying a team-high 13 goals.

Although it may have been a rough weekend at Princeton for Harvard men’s basketball, the women’s water polo team fared much better at the Princeton Invitational, finishing up 3-1 over the two-day tournament at DeNunzio Pool.

The Crimson (4-2) lost only to the Tigers (4-0), who were ranked twentieth in the country, while defeating Villanova (4-3), Colorado State (1-8) and Bucknell (2-2) by convincing margins.

Junior attacker Aisha Price led the offensive charge for the weekend with 13 goals, and freshman goalie Arieal Dukes headed the defensive effort with 29 saves across three games.

But with at least four different players scoring goals in each game, the tournament’s highs resulted from the entire team’s collaboration, which Harvard coach Ted Minnis names as the Crimson’s greatest strength at this early stage in the season.

“I think we’re so versatile,” Minnis said. “We’re not just one player or two players. Everyone is a threat at some point. If one person is unable to score, someone else will pick it up.... That’s the best thing about our team right now.“

HARVARD 12, COLORADO STATE 7

After a long weekend of games, Harvard was able to crank out a final win over the Rams by jumping to an early 4-0 lead in the first quarters.

Although Colorado State responded with a 3-1 run in the second frame, the game continued with both teams trading goals, but Harvard never surrendered its lead.

In the middle of the game, the Crimson struggled to maintain the early advantage. But the team never allowed the Rams to break into its two-goal buffer zone.

As the game continued, Harvard pulled away again, outscoring Colorado State 4-3 and 3-1 in the final two quarters to secure another victory.

The Rams were coming off a close loss against Princeton earlier Sunday morning, which may have had a strong effect on the team.

Colorado State only had its first win of the season on Saturday against Bucknell, but its early schedule was marked by several matchups with top-ranked teams, including Michigan and Indiana. While the Rams did not beat any of these teams, they scored several goals in the matchups, which helps Minnis view Harvard’s win over the team as a positive sign.

“We were very resilient in that game,” Minnis said. “They have been playing teams in the top twenty really tough—they only lost to Princeton 7-6 [in the final minute]. They’re a good team, and for us to come out and play that well and do the things we did, it just shows we’re on the right track.”

HARVARD 14, VILLANOVA 3

In the second meeting between the two squads in just over a week, the Crimson once again handily beat the Wildcats.